Think about Arshad Nadeem’s 92.97m throw that surpassed the 16-year-old Olympic Record (90.57m) by 2.40m. A sight, isn’t it? The run-up, the hold, the release… everything was perfect and beyond. Now cast your mind back to Nadeem’s sixth and final attempt. He was already assured a historic gold medal – Pakistan’s first at the Olympics in individual sport – and, like everyone else on that card, was completely spent. The best last-throw among all eight finalists was Julian Webber’s 84.09. And yet, somehow, Nadeem landed his javelin at 91.79m. It was 2.34m more than second-placed Neeraj Chopra’s best throw of 89.45m, achieved in his second attempt.
Nadeem was outstanding in the men’s javelin final at the Paris Olympics 2024, wasn’t he? Hell, he was. Now, consider the following…
-Nadeem was the only one of the seven Pakistani athletes at the Paris Olympics whose air tickets were sponsored by their government.
-It was Nadeem’s second Olympics. In Tokyo, he didn’t receive any support for his travel from the government. With barely a few months to ago for the Paris Games, he requested the authorities to replace his old javelin as it had become impossible to practice with it. His social media post garnered huge attention and even Neeraj Chopra amplified it. Earlier, it was his friends and neighbours who contributed to arranging his travel and other expenses for overseas tournaments.
-He tried his hands at cricket, football, hockey, and kabaddi before finally zeroing in on javelin, for which he took training in his own backyard due to the lack of any standard training facilities in Pakistan. In a family that struggled to make ends meet most days, with Muhammad Ashraf (Nadeem’s father) being the sole breadwinner, sport was a luxury they couldn’t even dream of. But Nadeem dared and how.
-Nadeem, like most javelin throwers, has had issues with his knees and shoulders. He had undergone multiple surgeries, the most recent one being in February this year. There was a serious doubt whether he would even be able to turn for the Olympics, let alone win a medal.
Now, think about his throws on Thursday again. The 92.97m, the 91.79m… Outstanding? Too light. To be honest, any adjective would be. It is hard to describe what Nadeem has achieved for athletics. For sport and the people of Pakistan in general. And above all, for himself.
The 27-year-old from Khanewal village in Punjab region was the only one from Pakistan to qualify for the finals at this Olympics. The other six bowed out in the initial stages of their respective events.
Right after Nadeem qualified for the finals for the second successive Olympics, there was celebration at his house where his parents, brothers, wife and two children and fellow villagers raised slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. His parents also distributed sweets.
“If my son can bring home an Olympic medal for Pakistan it would be the proudest moment for us and everyone in this village,” his father had said.
Well, he could now throw the biggest party of his life after what transpired in the French capital.
Nadeem’s feat at the Paris Olympics should not come as a surprise for those following his rise. He has been doing well for a long time. He won a silver medal at the World Championship last year and also a gold – Pakistan’s first in track and field in six decades – in the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a 90.18m throw. This was also the first time an Asian athlete had breached the 90m mark in javelin. Yes, even Neeraj is yet to do that.
On Tuesday, he qualified for the finals with a throw of 86.59m, bested by Chopra who produced a massive throw of 89.34 to qualify first.
For a man who grew up practising in the sweltering heat, with temperatures at times crossing 45 degrees, the Paris track and field arena was a cakewalk for Nadeem.
The pioneer of the javelin throw in Pakistan has always been blessed with the ability to surprise people. Punching above his weight has been a regular feature in Nadeem’s life. So, when, despite winning the historic gold at Paris with an Olympic record throw, he said he was confident of bettering that in Thursday’s event itself and was pretty sure, he would in the upcoming events, nobody had doubts. For they had no plausible reasons to.
